Even before he took the head coach position for Breckenridge girls basketball, he was on the football staff, helping the Huskies to right the ship on the gridiron.

This time, though, the task is different.

His Huskies fell to conference-foe Carson City-Crystal on Monday night by a score of 43-19, effectively ending their 2017-2018 campaign.

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The Huskies were led in scoring by Ellen Laurenz, who dropped in nine points. Her sister, Annie, had six points of her own, but it simply wasn’t enough to slow down the attack of the Eagles.

“I think that Carson City is a very well-rounded team that plays great team defense,” Baldwin said. “They have good size inside and speed all over the court. They shoot well, and can attack from any position.”

Baldwin also praised Eagles’ coach Tim Stout.

“Tim is a good coach. I’ve only just got to know him, but I can tell that he coaches his teams to have a winning attitude,” Baldwin said

Stout’s Eagles, who will face St. Charles in second-round action on Wednesday, pieced together a convincing 17-3 record this regular season, with two wins coming against Baldwin’s Huskies.

“Tim has created a program at Carson City that inspires hard work and effort,” Baldwin said. “His ability to motivate as a coach has shown both on the hardwood and the football field.”

While the Huskies end the year with a record of 4-17 (4-10 MSAC), first-year coach Baldwin is still optimistic.

“I feel like we have made some improvements in our defensive game,” he said. “In the beginning of the season, we lost some close games due to foul trouble. As the season has gone on, we have worked hard to improve how we move on defense and how we position ourselves to help in that area of the game.”

Baldwin’s squad next year will be short a leader in Ellen Laurenz, a loss that the coach was quick to acknowledge.

“Ellen played a lot of minutes this year, and had some very good games,” Baldwin said. “I think replacing her will be a challenge. She is a joy to be around, a good kid and cares a lot about hard work and being successful.”

Baldwin added that his team was young: Three juniors and three sophomores rounded out his lineup, and he looks forward to their contributions.

The promising youth doesn’t stop there, either. The program’s J.V. team went 18-2 this year, and is poised to bolster the varsity lineup for years to come.

“They had a great season,” Baldwin said. “They only lost two games; both losses were to teams that they were able to beat the second time around. They were exciting to watch, and I look forward to watching them grow. Many of them will have a large impact on moving this program in the right direction.”

One of the components of Baldwin’s system this year was Maisy Hammond, an exchange student from Australia. Even though she only played for the first half of the season before she had to head home, Baldwin is appreciative of her efforts.

“In the beginning of the year, Maisy was a huge help for our team,” Baldwin said. “Not only did she help put points on the board, but her court presence and knowledge of basketball were also great attributes. We all enjoyed having Maisy on the team, and were sad to see her go.”

With that being said, the final record put up by the Huskies isn’t up to Baldwin’s standards, and he looks forward to the offseason when he can see the real progress being made.

“I plan to expand on our offseason program a bit this upcoming summer,” he said. “We plan to play at Morey Courts, and possibly make it to a team camp.”

For Baldwin, if the players want to improve, it’s his job to do his best to assist them in that process.

“The girls are excited about playing over the summer and improving,” he said. “The assistant coaches and I want to make sure we give them every opportunity possible to make that happen.”

“I believe that a large part of success is building relationships with your players,” Baldwin said. “Understanding their needs and how to communicate with them is important to the success of a program. Honesty is a building block toward creating those relationships and understanding one-another.”

Honesty is a trait that doesn’t run short in Breckenridge, according to Baldwin.

“I’m honest with my players and always let them know what is expected of them,” he said. “Overall, I feel that we are headed in the right direction to become a better team and will soon produce results on the court.”

Don’t worry about Baldwin going anywhere, either. In addition to being the elementary Physical Education teacher, Baldwin holds both coaching positions in the high school. Recently, his wife Danielle accepted a teaching position in the district as well.

“I’ve been here for four years now, and the people of the community have been amazing to my family and me,” he said. “Both my wife and I grew up in small communities like Breckenridge and want our kids to have the same opportunity. We are excited to have our children grow up in a great community like Breckenridge.”

While the Baldwins are not yet living in the district, they hope that they can soon change that.

“We currently live in Midland,” he said. “However, when the basketball season is over, we will be looking to relocate closer to Breckenridge so that we can be even more involved locally.”

“Great things are happening in Breckenridge athletics,” Baldwin said. “I work in the elementary building, and every week one of my younger students will talk to me about kids in our high school athletics program. They watch them closely, look up to them, and get excited about what they are doing.”

“These student-athletes are setting a good example to follow and moving our sports programs in the right direction,” he said. “Our leaders are in the weight room and gym, and are motivating others to join them. I believe that these athletes are building the foundation to a bright future in Breckenridge.”